Letterjazz New Year’s Card 2018

One of my greatest joys is anticipating that Christmas-morning sense of excitement our VIP members experience every time they receive our quarterly VIP Box. I thought of this recently when I received this mailing from German printing company Letterjazz. Like any good direct mail piece it intrigued instantly due to the bulky nature of the envelope, and reminded me of why I love Letterjazz so much before I even opened it.

Just look at the distinctive saw-tooth edges on the label, printed with a custom-blended gray ink on 70 lb. Mohawk Strathmore Label paper. Turning it over we find another Strathmore label, this one perforated, making the opening of the cottony envelope feel like an event. But we’re not here simply to admire an envelope, uh uh.

Carefully tugging along the perforation you lift the flap and pow – your eyes are instantly overwhelmed by the moody juxtaposition of the black Sumo stock and hot foil stamped patterns. Removing it you discover that it is in fact a chunky, gorgeous “Happy New Year” card that is probably the best thing to happen in 2018 so far.

The gratifyingly heavy stock is courtesy of the aforementioned black Sumo paper on the front duplex laminated to a sheet of Sumo white for the back.

The front is even more stunning in person than it is in photos, featuring an illustration by longtime Letterjazz collaborator Dirk Uhlenbrock that’s just brimming with foil dots, dashes, swirls and wavy lines that give every impression of a storm at sea. The precision with which the bronze and gold foil are registered is every bit as breathtaking as the design itself. (And you can find more of Dirk’s work for Letterjazz here.)

Flipping the card over to the white back we find a simple “wishes for a creative and successful New Year” message letterpress printed in German. It’s rendered in a light gray ink similar to the one found on the label. They could easily have gone with a straight blind emboss – getting that lovely deep impression without using any ink – but the addition of this subtle hue makes the deep impressed text that touch easier to read.

And in case you missed it, the total basis weight for the duplexed piece is 2018 g/qm! (Actually, it’s 2100 g/qm but they just couldn’t resist starting the new year off with a little joke ;-))